South Melbourne prevails over Wellington Phoenix to advance in ...
Melbourne’s Greek-based clubs produced another stellar result in the Australia Cup, with South Melbourne stepping up this time to secure an historic win over Wellington Phoenix and advance to the Round of 16 in the Australia Cup.
Hellas secured a tight 1-0 victory over the A-League side on Tuesday evening at Lakeside Stadium, making it the second such upset by a Greek-background club after Oakleigh defeated Sydney FC last week.
Wellington Phoenix, which is currently undergoing a squad revamp, fielded a starting eleven with many young players which gave the hosts a slight edge to grab a great result.
South Melbourne seized control of the scoreline just minutes into their Round of 32 clash after captain and striker Harrison Sawyer guided the ball into the back of the net (4′).
Wellington dominated possession and created chances throughout the contest, though were unable to penetrate Hellas’ defence.
South Melbourne also came close to doubling their advantage, with Sawyer hitting the left post in the 55th minute.
Even after the Phoenix introduced star forwards Kosta Barbarouses and Marco Rojas, they could not break down Hellas and the NPL side managed to hang on for a remarkable victory (their first ever against an A-League side in the Australia Cup).
The win also marks their best result in the Australia Cup since 2017, when they famously made the semi-finals before losing to eventual winners Sydney FC.
Hellenic WA side Olympic Kingsway also delivered a fantastic effort as they downed NPL Northern NSW club Edgeworth FC 4-1 at home, making them the third Greek background club to qualify for the Round of 16.
The attention is now on Heidelberg United and Olympic FC to try and join their fellow Hellenic sides in the next round, with “Alexandros” taking on A-League premiers Central Coast Mariners and the Queenslanders facing a notable NPL NSW club in APIA Leichhardt.
Both games will take place on Wednesday evening at 7.30pm.
